A Whole Latte Sass

by Marguerite Labbe

  Felipe gave him a thoughtful look. “I can’t say so. But I’m guessing from that fierce expression on your face that you have.”

  “An experience I never want to repeat. Especially when I’m carrying precious cargo.” Not that Trask valued anything at that time in his life. But that was long behind him. He kissed Felipe the way he’d wanted to moments ago, and Felipe responded as if he had been thinking the same. He was all sunshine and wicked eagerness, and Trask didn’t make himself pull back until he heard Felipe’s soft moan.

  He released Felipe, his body aching for more as Felipe gave him a bemused smile. “Is there anything scandalous or dangerous you haven’t done?” Felipe asked, breaking the spell that had Trask almost reaching for him again.

  Trask considered that a moment, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. “I can safely say that I’ve never gotten a girl pregnant.”

  Felipe burst out laughing. “That’s good to know. Bringing home step-puppy babies is one thing. I don’t know if my mama can handle step-grandbabies.”

  “And I’ve never deliberately hurt anyone. Haven’t pulled a weapon on anybody.” Trask studied Felipe’s face as his mood turned somber. He had a lot of dark in his past, and he wasn’t sure what a man like Felipe would think of it. Felipe seemed to be all laughter and living in the moment.

  Felipe brushed his fingers over Trask’s cheek. “The tidbits you drop about your past, I can picture it when you talk about it. I can see the echoes, even down to the brawling, but I cannot see you being scary violent. And maybe one day you’ll give me the whole story.”

  Trask thought he could trust Felipe with the whole story. It had put some past boyfriends off. Others had tried to get him to prove that he no longer had a problem by trying to insist he take a drink with them. Though not all, some could handle it, and Trask had learned to judge them. He suspected Felipe could handle it. “I think I will.”

  Felipe’s smile blossomed. He leaned in and kissed Trask’s cheek. “You get to me, Tin Man. Boy, do you get to me.”

  Trask was beginning to realize that it went both ways. Felipe had tucked himself quite neatly into Trask’s life with his infectious smiles and sassy mouth. Trask had some deep feelings brewing, and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

  Chapter Thirteen

  FELIPE TAMPED down the spate of nerves that attacked as Trask turned off the main road onto the tiny lane hidden among the trees. This was ridiculous. He’d brought guys home before for wall-banging sex. And he’d had feelings for them to one varying degree or another. He’d never been nervous, not since his first time. Sex was glorious, messy fun, sometimes comical even, but never nerve-wracking.

  This was different. Trask was different. Some would say it was the aura of Trask’s dangerous past that drew him, but they’d be wrong. He was sexy enough without those hints. Just look at him. Trask could tattoo “totally bangable” across his forehead and everyone who saw it would nod to themselves at the truth. Felipe wanted to lick him like a melting ice cream cone in big, greedy slurps.

  Maybe it was the way that Trask didn’t seem to angst over the past or worry about the future. He treated Felipe the same way he treated everyone else. He wasn’t the hot piece on the side that past boyfriends wanted to flaunt or hide or the fun fling that distracted someone from what they really wanted, and now that Morris had opened his eyes, Felipe planned a good brood over Dakota and Brenden later. He felt like a fucking moron. Morris had tried to warn him, and he didn’t listen. He’d have to ask Morris what he thought of Trask, no old man comments allowed. He wanted his real opinion. Morris would give it to him when he realized that teasing time was over.

  With Trask, he could just be himself and not concern himself with how it would be taken later.

  “Watch out for the deer,” Felipe commented as he spied movement among the trees.

  “That’s really a problem?” Trask slowed the truck to a crawl as the road narrowed even more and twisted around a bend.

  “Oh yeah, those suckers come out of nowhere and all you see is a flash of brown hide and panicked eyes, and then just as you relax, realizing you didn’t hit the stupid bastard, three of his friends go, ‘Hey, that SOB made it. Let’s give it a try.’ Bam, dead deer on your bumper.”

  Trask chuckled. “Good to know. You weren’t kidding when you said you lived in the middle of nowhere.” Between them, Sophie started barking in excitement, and her tail whipped Felipe’s arm.

  “It seems farther away in the dark.” Felipe pointed toward the light that gleamed through the leafless trees. “That’s the lamp at the edge of the yard. It always makes me think of Narnia when I’m coming home at night. You can pull around to the far end of the driveway. I live upstairs in the back.”

  “Wow, big place,” Trask murmured as the trees opened up to reveal the sprawling farmhouse. “This is seriously cool.”

  Felipe grinned and reached between them to pat Sophie. It was nice to have someone appreciate his home. He loved it here. “Just wait till you see the view from my deck. You can spy all kinds of wildlife: deer, beaver, eagles, and the ugliest bastards I’ve ever seen, turkey buzzards. They’re huge. And the sunsets are awesome, but we’ll have to wait for another night to watch.”

  “I’d like that,” Trask said after a quiet, breathless moment. That was the appeal. Trask didn’t have any qualms about admitting he was thinking of Felipe too. He didn’t make a big deal when Felipe uttered anything sappy either or accuse him of being clingy. Which was bullshit. What was the point of being in a relationship with someone if you didn’t want to spend time with them? Felipe never got that mentality.

  Trask parked the car in the back, and Felipe was surprised to see the lack of cars in the driveway. He hoped he wasn’t missing a family function that he was supposed to attend tonight. Trask rubbed his hands on his jeans. “Is it weird that I’m a little nervous?”

  That touched Felipe in ways he wasn’t certain how to express. This kind of honesty was new to him, especially after his last experience, and it prompted Felipe to be honest in return as he captured Trask’s hand. “Me too.”

  “Is that so?” Trask turned to him, and Felipe couldn’t see his expression, but he heard the skepticism in his voice. “It’s been a while for me. What’s your excuse?”

  Felipe unbuckled his seat belt and reached for Trask, his heart beating faster. “It’s my first time with you.” And his initial attraction to Trask was rapidly turning into something so much more. More than what Felipe was ready to process.

  Felipe slid over to Trask’s side of the truck, leaning over Sophie. Despite their nerves, he knew exactly what he wanted and that was his lips on Trask’s, those sexy tattooed hands on his body, and he wanted to undress Trask slowly in the light of his bedroom lamp. As he slid his arms around Trask’s neck, Trask’s lips found his own.

  Whatever nerves Trask might have, it sure as hell didn’t show in his kiss. Felipe groaned, diving into the taste of him, the faint scent of his spicy aftershave, the scratch of his beard against Felipe’s skin.

  “I don’t think you’ve lost your touch,” Felipe murmured against his mouth.

  Trask’s lips curved. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about either.”

  A sharp bark from between them had both of them pulling away. “You recognize home and you want out, huh?” Trask said, looking down. “Hold on, Daddy’s got it.”

  Damn, Felipe could really fall for him and fall for him hard. He’d never been head over heels for anyone before. He’d had heavy feelings for a few, but not like this. He’d seen others around him in that state and he’d envied them, but he’d never gotten it. Now he understood why Morris wanted to hang out at the bistro most evenings. Why he got that little smile when he’d receive a text or a call from Theo. And why he’d get so aggravated when Theo took on too much work.

  It was the little day-to-day moments that made up a relationship. The silly times or the mundane bits, a smile and a touch of the hand. Not so much the d
ates and going out to party. It was watching a man dote on a puppy. It was hearing him share parts of his past that Felipe knew he was ashamed of but trusting Felipe enough to say it anyway. Trask didn’t seem to be much of the open up and sharing kind. Felipe could yap for hours about nothing, but when Trask spoke he was kind of like Yoda, cryptic and deep.

  Felipe slid out of the truck, his breath steaming in the night air. The temperature had dropped in the last hour. He whistled softly. Lady appeared out of the shadows and leaned against his leg. Felipe rubbed her head and throat as she lifted into the caress, and Sophie ran around them both, barking in excitement. Felipe could almost hear the endless “hi, hi, hi” in her tone as she greeted everything she hadn’t seen in a couple of weeks.

  “Is the place fenced in?” Trask asked, letting the puppy’s leash out as far as it would go but keeping her on it.

  “No, and there are possums and other critters. I’d keep her on that until she learns to come to you all the time. Just like my girl here.” Felipe leaned down and kissed the top of Lady’s head. “Lady, this is Trask. He’s a friend.” Felipe emphasized the last word.

  “Nice to meet you, Lady.” Trask held out his hand to be sniffed and patted her head. “You know, I’d forgotten how dark and quiet it was in the country at night. I don’t know how you can stand it.”

  “Try standing here on a July evening when the cicadas are out. There’s nothing quiet about the country. It’s just a different kind of noise.” Felipe grabbed Trask’s hand and tugged him toward the back of the house. “And I’m in the mood to make some.”

  As they hit the outside stairs that led to his deck, Trask caught him around the waist. He brushed his lips along Felipe’s nape. Heat swept through him as he felt Trask’s body behind his. They were of similar height and build, and he just knew they’d fit so well together. “How much noise?” Trask whispered in his ear.

  Felipe smiled slowly and slid his arm around Trask’s neck, then twisted to kiss him, lightly nipping Trask’s lip. “Since it doesn’t seem like there is anyone else at the house, an absolute spectacle.”

  Trask’s cock pushed insistently against Felipe’s robes. “I was kind of hoping you’d say that.” Trask slid his hands under Felipe’s cloak, searching for an opening in his clothing. His cold touch shocked Felipe’s skin through the thin material.

  “Bitch.” Felipe pulled away with a gasp and a laugh. “That’s not the kind of squealing I was thinking of.”

  He ran up the stairs and pushed open the door to his apartment. Despite the chill, he was burning to get more of Trask’s hands. Trask looked around curiously at the small living room, cluttered with a worn-out couch, an extra mannequin draped in a half-finished costume, and Felipe’s rickety craft table covered with elements for his latest project.

  Felipe stripped off his cloak and tossed it over the couch as he walked backward. Trask’s black-eyed gaze zeroed in on him. Felipe smiled slowly and sat to pull off his boots, then undid the hidden zipper to his robes. Trask crouched down and unclipped Sophie’s harness, and the puppy took off with a happy bark of joy, Lady trotting after her.

  “Are you going to strip down right here in front of me?” Trask asked, shrugging out of his own jacket.

  “Yep.” Felipe pulled off every one of his accessories and laid them carefully on the table. The school tie and shirt followed, neatly folded by the cloak. As much as Felipe wanted to strip down like a pole dancer, tossing his clothes every which way, he’d put too many hours into this costume to be careless with it. He smiled at Trask as he unbuttoned his pants. “And I fully expect to watch you do the same before I let you through my bedroom door.”

  He loved the way Trask looked at him like he just wanted to pounce and devour him in one greedy bite. A sexy silver wolf on the hunt. Felipe pulled off his pants and stood unashamedly naked in the doorway to his bedroom. “Well, are you going to join me or not?” Felipe trailed his fingers down his body to his aching cock. “Or do I have to take care of myself?”

  “You are one hell of a tease.” Trask stripped off his shirt as he moved toward Felipe. “From your sassy mouth to every little move you make.”

  Felipe grinned as he watched Trask undress. Damn, he was sexy, and there wasn’t a part of him that didn’t bear some kind of ink. Felipe wanted to explore every inch of him. “Do they all mean something to you?” he asked, gesturing to Trask’s naked body. He could only imagine how much all of that cost.

  Trask glanced down at his body. “I can’t say that. Some I don’t remember getting, some I got just because I liked the look of them, and I like getting tattoos, but a good number of them do have meaning for me.”

  Felipe dragged his finger down Trask’s side. “It looks like you have a bare spot right here. Maybe I should mark it. A little imp carrying a steaming coffee mug.”

  “That might be an idea sometime in the future.” Trask grasped Felipe’s hips and guided him back into his bedroom. “I see you don’t have any. You ever think of getting one?”

  “I like making my own decorations and changing them with my mood.” Felipe made a humming sound as Trask kissed his neck. “A tattoo is way too permanent.” Not that he was against commitments, just not of the ink variety.

  He flipped on his bedroom light and steered Trask toward the bed. They tumbled onto it, and Trask kissed him again, his beard scratching delightfully against Felipe’s skin. He’d never given thought to how that would feel, and he realized he’d been seriously missing out on the joys of facial hair. Felipe stroked his hands over Trask’s body, lightly tweaked the bars piercing those sexy nipples. Trask groaned into his mouth, his cock throbbing against Felipe’s thigh.

  Felipe rolled over, pushing Trask onto his back. His lips feathered over the leaf-covered branches on Trask’s chest. He kissed down the intertwined pocket watch chain and the scattering of ravens down one long arm to the timepiece with the missing hands on the back of his hand, then moved to the other arm with its winding sea dragon and helpless ship. He could spend hours discovering Trask’s body.

  There were scars too, old and healed over, on his chest and around his knee. Trask’s body told a story, and bit by bit, Felipe was going to get it all out of him. Trask’s blunt fingertips danced along Felipe’s spine in a caress that had him arching against the older man. “Damn, everything about you is sexy,” Felipe murmured.

  “I think that’s supposed to be my line.” Trask’s hands slid into Felipe’s hair as he pulled him closer for another kiss. Felipe’s body went all hot and heavy. He loved the way Trask did that, how he took charge without being annoyingly domineering.

  He had been thinking of this ever since he set his sights on the sexy gamer. In the months that followed, as he slowly worked his way under Trask’s quiet reserve, his fascination had grown. He hadn’t expected to find so much in common with him. He hadn’t realized how easy it would be to talk with him once he had the man one-on-one. And he sure as fuck hadn’t anticipated how Trask’s kisses would set him on fire and have him wanting to surrender.

  “More,” Felipe said on a breathy moan, his lips tingling, his body alive. He straddled Trask’s thighs, rocking against his hard cock.

  Trask gripped his ass, kneading and teasing, before breaking off with a light slap. “Where’s your lube and condoms, imp?”

  Felipe shivered as Trask nuzzled his throat and tried to think past the demanding hormones that were cussing him out at the moment. He didn’t want to move. He wanted to stay draped over Trask like a security blanket as they drove each other crazy. But if he didn’t move, he wouldn’t get fucked, and dammit, Felipe really wanted to get fucked.

  “Screw responsibility,” Felipe grumbled as he left the warmth of Trask’s body to lean over and yank open his drawer. He managed to get his hand on the box of condoms and fished one out as Trask discovered his nipple. His fingers and toes curled as he let out a desperate whimper. Trask’s lips and tongue sucked and demanded. His teeth nipped, and Felipe whimpered again, writhing
over him. “Oh fuck, you’re killing me,” he panted as he pulled away to try to get his equilibrium back.

  “Felipe.” Trask’s husky voice washed over him in a warm wave. “Get the damn lube.”

  Felipe shot him a glare as he reached again for the bottle out of the dangerously listing drawer. The moment his hand reached it, Trask found his other nipple. Felipe closed his eyes with a soft cry. It was his biggest weakness. He’d roll over in a heartbeat for a guy who played with his nipples just right.

  “Trask…. Trask, please….” His hands fisted in the sheets as Trask moved from one point of sensation to the other.

  He felt slickened fingers penetrate him as he groped for the condom. He tore the package open, his heart pounding as Trask watched him through lazy, half-lidded eyes. “You have the sexiest whimper I ever heard,” Trask said, stretching his fingers as the need spiked higher.

  “You tell anybody I whimpered, and I swear you will pay.” Felipe tried for a threatening look, but he felt too damn good, too needy to make it effective. “I make guys whimper. Not the other way around,” he said as he rolled the condom down on Trask’s cock.

  “Promises, imp.” Trask grinned as he slid his fingers free and grasped Felipe’s hips. “You think you can make me whimper? Bring it.”

  Oh, if Trask thought he could challenge Felipe Suero like that and be able to crawl away afterward, he had a surprise in store. Felipe narrowed his eyes with a soft growl as he leaned down and nipped Trask’s collarbone.

  Trask flinched back with a soft laugh. “My imp has fangs.”

  His body on edge, Felipe grasped Trask’s condom-covered cock, feeling the slickness of the lube that Trask must’ve slathered over it, and eased back on it. He groaned as the hard length penetrated him. Trask’s fingers flexed on his hips and his lips parted on a silent moan, but he let Felipe set the pace.

  Felipe watched the pleasure on Trask’s face, drinking in the moment and promising himself that he would get Trask naked again any time he could. He moaned softly as he settled all the way back, feeling the stretch and burn. Fuck, that felt good.